The present invention is directed to beverage packages, and more particularly to closures and containers for such packages, and to methods of manufacturing such closures and containers. Preferred aspects of the invention relate to improved drainage of product from between the container finish and the closure skirt after filling and capping the container.
It is conventional to form a tamper-indicating closure having a band connected to a skirt by integral frangible means, such as frangible bridges or a frangible web. The band has a stop element (e.g., a flange or a bead) that engages a bead on the container finish to resist unthreading of the closure, so that removal of the closure ruptures the frangible means that connect the band to the skirt. U.S. Pat. Nos. Re33,265, 4,322,009 and 4,432,461, assigned to an assignee of the present application, disclose tamper-indicating closures of this character, in which the tamper-indicating band is completely severed from the closure skirt and remains on the container upon removal of the closure from the container. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,295,600 and 6,224,802, also assigned to an assignee of the present application, disclose tamper-indicating closures in which the tamper-indicating band remains connected to the closure skirt and is removed from the container with the closure.
Although tamper-indicating closures and packages of the types disclosed in the noted patents have enjoyed substantial commercial acceptance and success, further improvements remain desirable. For example, problems are encountered when employing this type of closure in so-called wet finish applications, in which liquid may spill during or after the filling operation onto the outside surface of the container so as to be disposed between the container finish and the closure skirt after capping. Wet finish situations of this type are encountered during, for example, hot-fill, cold-fill and aseptic-fill situations, in which the containers are filled close to the brim or to overflow prior to capping. Wet finish situations can also be encountered during filling operations in which liquid may drip from the filling machinery onto the container finish. In wet finish situations of this type, problems are encountered in connection with draining and drying of the area between the outside surface of the container finish and the inside of the closure skirtxe2x80x94i.e., between the threads on the container finish and skirt, and around the tamper-indicating band and the stop element. Liquid trapped within this area can result in growth of mold or mildew, and when dry undesirably increases the torque required for removal of the closure from the container.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,119,883 and 6,152,316, assigned to an assignee of the present application, disclose tamper-indicating closures in which drain openings are provided at the juncture of the tamper-indicating band and the stop flangexe2x80x94i.e., through the stop flange adjacent to the band, through the band adjacent to the stop flange, or through the hinge portion in both the stop flange and the tamper-indicating band. A plurality of these drain openings, disposed in a circumferentially spaced array around the closure, improve product drainage in the area of the tamper-indicating band and the stop flange. U.S. Pat. No. 6,253,940, assigned to an assignee of the present application, illustrates a closure having drain openings at the juncture of the stop flange and the band, and openings in a flared portion of the closure skirt for admitting flushing solution. This helps flush liquid from between the container finish and the closure in the area of the stop flange and the tamper-indicating band.
It is a general object of the present invention to provide a closure and/or a container and/or a closure and container package that is/are specifically constructed to improve liquid product drainage from between the container finish and the closure in wet finish and other similar situations. Another and related object of the invention is to provide a method of manufacturing such a closure and/or container.
The present invention involves a number of aspects that may be implemented from, or more preferably in combination with each other.
In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention, a tamper-indicating closure of integrally molded plastic construction includes a base wall having a peripheral skirt with at least one internal thread for securing the closure a container, a tamper-indicating band frangibly connected to an edge of the skirt, a stop element extending axially and radially from the band remote from the skirt, a plurality of circumferentially spaced drain openings extending through the band and/or the stop element, and a plurality of circumferentially spaced channels or grooves extending axially through the internal thread within the closure skirt. At least some of these channels or grooves are axially aligned with drain openings at the hinge portion of the stop flange to promote drainage of liquid through the channels and through the drain openings. The drain openings are preferably uniformly circumferentially spaced around the closure, while the channels or grooves through the internal thread are preferably non-uniformly spaced and clustered at the lead-in of the thread. The preferred embodiments of the invention include double threads having diametrically opposed lead-ins, with the axial channels or grooves being clustered at lesser spacing from each other adjacent to the thread lead-ins.
A beverage container in accordance with another aspect of the invention includes a cylindrical finish having an open mouth, at least one external thread for securing a closure to the finish, an external circumferential stop bead on a side of the thread remote from the container mouth, and an external support flange on a side of the bead remote from the mouth. The stop bead includes a plurality of circumferentially spaced bead segments that are separated from each other by circumferential gaps. A plurality of circumferentially spaced drain elements on the support flange are each axially aligned with a corresponding gap in the stop bead. Fluid may thus freely drain along the external surface of the container finish through the gaps in the stop bead and the drain elements on the support flange. The drain elements on the support flange in one preferred embodiment in accordance with this aspect of the invention take the form of drain grooves on a surface of the support flange axially facing the stop bead. Each groove has a bottom surface that is angulated radially outwardly and axially downwardly away from the bead. The drain elements in accordance with another embodiment of this aspect of the invention comprise drain slots that extend axially through the support flange. The finish preferably has an outer circumferential wall surface, with the external thread, the external bead and the external support flange extending radially outwardly from this wall surface. The gaps in the stop bead and the slots through the support flange are formed by corresponding portions of the wall surface. Thus, fluid may readily flow through these gaps and slots. In the preferred embodiments of the invention, the container is of integrally molded plastic construction, although this aspect of the invention may also readily be implemented in containers of glass construction, for example.
A container and closure package in accordance with another aspect of the invention includes a container having a finish with at least one external thread and an external bead disposed beneath the thread. The closure includes a base wall having a peripheral skirt with at least one internal thread for securing the closure to the external thread on the container finish, a tamper-indicating band frangibly connected to an edge of the skirt, and a stop element extending from the band for abutment with the bead on the container finish. Drain openings are provided in the stop element and/or the band. A plurality of circumferentially spaced axial channels or grooves extend along the inside of the skirt through the internal thread, at least some of which are in axial alignment with drain openings.
A closure and container package in accordance with a further aspect of the invention includes a container having a finish with at least one external thread, an external circumferential bead defined by a plurality of circumferentially spaced bead segments separated from each other by circumferential gaps, an external flange on a side of the bead remote from the thread, and a plurality of circumferentially spaced drain elements on the flange and each axially aligned with a corresponding gap in the bead. The closure includes a base wall having a peripheral skirt and at least one internal thread for affixing the closure to the external thread on the container finish. A tamper-indicating band is frangibly connected to the skirt, and a stop element extends from the band for abutment with the bead on the container finish. Drain openings may be provided, but need not necessarily be provided in accordance with this aspect of the invention, in the stop element and/or the tamper-indicating band.
In accordance with yet another aspect of the present invention, a method of making a tamper-indicating closure contemplates integrally molding the closure of plastic as molded construction that includes a base wall having a peripheral skirt with at least one internal thread for affixing the closure to a container, a tamper-indicating band frangibly connected to an edge of the skirt, a stop element extending from the band, and a plurality of circumferentially spaced drain openings extending through the band adjacent to the stop element, through the stop element adjacent to the band, or through both the element and the band. The step of molding the closure is such that a plurality of circumferentially spaced channels or grooves are formed extending axially through the internal thread, with at least some of the grooves being axially aligned with drain openings in the stop element and/or band.
A method of making a beverage container in accordance with a further aspect of the present invention includes integrally molding a container having a cylindrical finish with an open mouth, at least one external thread, an external circumferential bead on a side of the thread remote from the mouth and an external circumferential flange on a side of the bead remote from the thread. The step of molding the container is such that the bead comprises a plurality of circumferentially spaced bead segments separated from each other by circumferential gaps, and the flange includes a plurality of circumferentially spaced drain elements each axially aligned with a corresponding gap in the bead. These drain elements preferably include drain grooves or slots in the external flange. The bead segments are preferably of uniform circumferential dimension and at uniform circumferential spacing. The container is preferably of molded plastic construction, although this aspect of the invention may also be implemented in glass containers, for example.